1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with devices for cooling the heated air generated in the devices.
2. Description of Prior Art
Cooling devices, which can be installed on the top of the switchgear cabinet are known, which draw the heated air from the interior of the switchgear cabinet and return it to the interior of the switchgear cabinet, after it has been cooled.
Heat exchangers designed as wall elements are known, which have the same function.
These known devices have one disadvantage; they cannot be adapted to various conditions in the interior of the switchgear cabinet. For example, there is the repeated desire to draw the air in a specific manner from clearly defined locations in the interior, or to directly conduct the returned cooled air to components mounted at arbitrary locations of the interior.
It is one object of this invention to provide a switchgear cabinet with devices for cooling the heated air generated in the interior so that the air circulation in the interior can easily be adapted to various conditions.
In accordance with this invention, this object is achieved with at least one vertical side closed off with a double-walled wall element, whose outer and inner wall sections form an air conduit with a large surface. Several openings are cut, distributed over the inner wall section, which can selectively be covered by cover plates, or fans, which can be operated in both directions of rotation, and hose sections with connector plates.
Depending on the covering of the openings, it is possible with the fans to draw off or blow in air at all these locations having openings. The same applies for the hose sections, which in this case can be brought to specific components, which are arbitrarily distributed over the interior. Openings which are not used can be covered with the cover plates. Equipping the inner wall section as a part of the heat exchanger can be varied in many ways and optimally adapted to the conditions prevailing in the interior.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the openings are distributed in a grid pattern in the inner wall section. Thus it is possible to assemble the inner wall section from several vertically divided wall panels.
In one advantageous embodiment the openings have a square cross section.
If fans are used, whose input and output connecting planes are at an acute angle with respect to each other, the fans can be attached in any arbitrarily rotated position to the square openings. Thus the directions in which the air flow is drawn off or blown in can be oriented in different directions. The fans can preferably be operated as suction blowers and pressure blowers.
If the hose sections are designed to be resilient, open ends of the hose sections can easily be guided to the components arranged at arbitrary locations in the interior of the switchgear cabinet. It is possible to charge the components with cooled air in a specific manner. It is also possible to draw off the heated air emitted by the components in a specific manner.
The double-walled wall element is embodied as a heat exchanger, wherein the air conduit with a large surface provides a steep temperature gradient when filled with warm air. Good efficiency is achieved with this because of the heat exchanger.
The double-walled wall element can close off a lateral wall or the rear wall of the switchgear cabinet. However, it can also be designed to be the switchgear cabinet door.